Public health executives from around the world reflected on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic during a global health conference on Monday, as the rising prevalence of the Delta variant caused more infections and reminded executives that the health crisis is not over is.
The opening keynote panel of the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, held in the Palazzo Ballroom of the Venetian, focused on the strengths and weaknesses of global health systems. Panelists’ references ranged from Deputy Minister of Defense for Health Affairs in the Department of Defense to leadership in the World Health Organization.
Officials realized that the theme of the keynote, “Preserving the Health of a Population – Early Lessons from a Global Pandemic” had an ironic note as the Delta variant is making waves around the world.
Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe, highlighted how the effects of the pandemic could continue to emerge if the virus is not addressed everywhere.
“When people wonder why they should help other countries when we have to help ourselves first, I say that nobody is safe until everyone is safe,” said Kluge. “If solidarity doesn’t come from the heart, it has to come from the brain.”
The problem can be seen in the Middle East, where Israel was lauded this year for its successful launch of vaccines and rapid return to pre-pandemic life.
Ran Balicer, a senior executive at Israel’s largest health organization, Clalit Health Services, said the country expected it to be clear earlier this summer when the seven-day average of new infections dropped to double digits. The country is now growing exponentially on a daily basis.
“It is clear again that this disease, this challenge, this pandemic is an ever-changing and continuous challenge that we will have to face at least for a while longer,” Balicer said during a teleconference to the panel.
Panellists found that there was a lot to learn in the past 18 months. Leaders should prioritize population health, equal opportunities and the social determinants of health and mental health, they said.
“We saw huge health inequalities everywhere, and we saw communities that needed access to testing (and) early access to vaccines couldn’t get it,” said Patrice Harris, past president of the American Medical Association. “Of course there are a lot of problems that have been amplified, but I believe that you cannot solve a problem that you cannot identify. Now that we know, we need to make sure that there is sustained effort to continue the work in all of these areas. “
Compulsory vaccination
Unique to this year’s conference of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society was the “Vaccination requirement” guideline for all participants, exhibitors and employees. Mask compulsory also existed because of the state mandate for high-transmission areas.
Despite significant moderation, some large companies withdrew from the conference. Medicomp Systems, for example, had canceled its participation around two weeks earlier due to the rapidly increasing Delta variant. In Clark County, the positivity rate is around 16.3 percent, and the two-week moving average of new daily cases is 981 as of Monday.
The exhibition and conference for the digital and health technology industries still drew nearly 700 booths and 18,000 in-person attendees, said a HIMSS spokeswoman – the largest of its kind in the U.S. pre-pandemic conferences brought about 47,000 attendees to convention centers in Las Vegas and Orlando , Florida.
“Our goal is to create a safe and meaningful conference,” said Karen Groppe, senior director of Strategic Communications, in a statement. “HIMSS introduced the ‘mandatory vaccination’ approach for all participants, exhibitors and HIMSS employees at HIMSS21. In practice, this means that all HIMSS21 visitors, exhibitors and HIMSS employees must prove their COVID-19 vaccination in order to gain access to the HIMSS21 campus. We have decided that this is the best way to have a safe event. “
Guarded optimism
WHO’s Kluge said countries that coped well with the pandemic have strong primary health systems and integrated public health functions.
According to Kluge, the connection between global health and strong economic performance should be taken into account.
“We are finally getting this shift in thinking that there is no contradiction between life and livelihood, between health and economy,” he said. “I think this is one of the biggest lessons, no health, no economics.”
Panelists shared a cautious optimism for the future of the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraged by the successful global portfolio of vaccines. To survive the pandemic, vaccination campaigns need to be stepped up, pressure kept on the virus while avoiding lockdowns and expanding treatment therapies.
They said health data and information technology will be critical to moving an outbreak forward, using data to understand an outbreak and respond fairly.
“You really need the data in real time to understand what’s coming and react in a timely manner as your impact is always delayed,” said Balicer. “There is an embedded delay in the situation that makes it extremely difficult for decision makers.”
HIMSS is hosting its conference at the Venetian and Sands Expo and Convention Center, Caesars Forum Conference Center and Wynn Las Vegas through Friday.
The review journal is owned by the family of Dr. Miriam Adelson, the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Las Vegas Sands operates The Venetian and the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
McKenna Ross is a corps member of Report for America, a national utility that places journalists in local newsrooms. Contact them at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.
